5 Ways Startups Can Get the Most From WebRTC

Startups have a well-deserved reputation for innovation and market disruption. From Facebook to Uber, many have built their success on a foundation of emerging technologies. Fortunately for newly minted companies, there are always advances on the horizon. The trick is knowing which are worthwhile and how best to use them.

One communications technology worth embracing is WebRTC, which is expected to grow in popularity and adoption in 2016. This open-source effort eliminates the need for proprietary software or plug-ins in browsers. WebRTC – which stands for Web Real Time Communications – enables audio, video and file-sharing through virtually all major browsers, Safari being the notable exception.

Startups in particular can integrate WebRTC into their unified communications strategy and realize gains in agility, collaboration and sales, while also keeping a lid on their budgets. Here are five ways they can benefit from using WebRTC.

Innovate the Customer Experience: Many startups find success with products or services that provide a fresh solution to a common problem. When innovative thinking is applied across the value chain, it accelerates success. WebRTC is implemented using simple APIs, meaning it can be integrated easily within your mobile app, website or application. Startups can apply WebRTC to transform day-to-day interactions with their customers –with just a modest amount of work.

Get Critical Advice: A common challenge for startups is that they lack the management and business expertise to bring their idea to market. That’s why having a team of advisors is essential for growth. But advisors typically aren’t in the room every time a problem arises. WebRTC makes it easier for startups to get the best advice possible – when they need it. Entrepreneurs can initiate face-to-face conversations with advisors in real-time, and use video and file-sharing to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the situation they’re grappling with.

Accelerate Product Development: Many early stage companies don’t have the benefit of a common office. Instead, team members are dispersed, working from remote locations. This can delay product development, especially if in-person meetings are required to move projects to the next phase. WebRTC makes it simple for developers to use chat and video to get instant answers from colleagues, and working meetings can be just as productive in a virtual environment because file-sharing is easy and secure.

Disrupt the Sales Cycle: Today technology seems to create more of a distance between customers and businesses, but WebRTC actually encourages face-to-face conversations. By embedding links in products to sales and customer service teams, startups can create more upsell and cross-sell opportunities.

Enhance Collaboration with External Partners: Because WebRTC uses a common set of protocols, startups can use it to build external working groups. It no longer matters if your partner on a project is using the same video conferencing service. With WebRTC, video conferencing works on most browsers and mobile devices, for a frictionless collaboration experience.

All of this can happen without security risk or significant investment. WebRTC uses state of the art encryption protocols, meaning that communications are more secure than with other Web-based services. And since it’s open source, WebRTC doesn’t require any investment except time. For cash-strapped startups, that’s a windfall.